Thanks to Glantimere for the submission. Below follows some select biography entries for the character Talius, laid out as if discovered in an IC way, edited slightly to remove direct allusion to PCs that may not meet the requirements of original submissions. Enjoy!

A former Jihaen scholar writes a brief piece of history after finding the journal of Talius Kassigarh, having also lived to meet him on a handful of occasions. The saga unveils the difficulty that the Orders, specifically the Jihaen order faced while trying to both retaliate against a southern ploy and simply survive.

Early Life

Talius did not have an easy time in public life to start. His immediate Brother, Mordus Negean, was as much a prankster as he was a Jihaen. The two trained vigorously together within the tower, but shared little in the way of domestic political agenda. Talius was very reserved in his judgements and punishments, Mordus, less so, and concerned with wealth. And what politial strata would be complete without the crippling rivalry of the two premier families? Dragean Tenneshi and his rival have slowed and lulled Surif cooperation to a point that Talius Kassigarh almost refuses to deal with them. To Talius, he trusted and had more faith in his council with Faithful Lady Tenneshi, than anything else.

Plans, or Pipe Dreams?

Talius bided his time, trying to play each edge of the political spectrum, watching the Winrothol and Tenneshi play with cruel intentions, constricted from truly chasing his ambitions. A few plans and discussions had been made considering an expedition to Fel-Kerran. Yet these, seemed to each lag with Mordus' fleeting attention, as his brother kept more accurate ledgers of funding and extortions, than he did of plans in the Yen-El-Tun. Talius took an initial expedition in the Yen-El-Tun chasm, where the Gith were immediately rallied against his meager patrol. The handful of Tuluki escaped, Talius and his sergeant Calistyrr nearly not so, while the gith received a handful of dead in return for their efforts. For the time, the trip to Fel-Kerran was delayed, due to both the Gith and to the young brothers myriad of arrow wounds. Another failed ambition, circled around the idea of taking a southern location, and fortifying it into a legion post and trade hub. But the atmosphere itself was found in defiance of the possibility, forcing Talius back to the drawing board once more.

A Fading Conflict

Soon after Talius' recovery, slowly word began to make itself north that Allanak was readying its forces for a larger campaign. Initially, And during tense diplomatic phases for the Ivory, Talius and his Brother Mordus believed they would face a force of 100, to 200 enemy soldiers. Allanak marched past Luir's, distracted Tuluki attention, and eventually seized Ten'Serak, sealing it off. With this in place, not counting Luir's, Allanak now had control of a border dividing the Known in half, blocking off Tuluki influence or travel southwards past their two encampments. A target soon became evident: Tyn Dashra. The entire ordeal escalated rapidly, both armies number over a thousand soldiers in response to one another. The diplomacy crashed as Muarki leadership failed to comply with Tuluki requests to aid them, and Kurac cowered within their outpost, refusing to renew any contract with Tuluk in it's potential time of need of them. The battle turned for the worse, when it was concluded and both sides finally met in a fierce, brief battle. At its end, a great volcano shattered the earth and rose, destroying much of the Tuluki and Allanaki armies, and Tyn Dashra. The Jihaens took devastating losses, and Talius watched the Exalted Lord Atum devoured by flames before his eyes, before being violently blasted from the peak of the rising mountain, found by mere chance by a retreating Tuluki army.

The Southern Design

It had been a great point of pride, Talius' relationship with Rider. He had given him every leniency as a foreigner could hope for, even using him as a partisan discreetly. If Talius trusted someone outside of his Order, it was this commoner, who had fought by his side for years. Rider had impressed Talius in his efforts during the Legion-Byn expedition east into Kryl Territory. Talius couldn't have known, then nor even unto the battle itself, of the southern ploy he was victim too. His aide Alize showed splendid talent and had been taken into a bardic circle, and served him well. So when Rider won the grey hunt, and took Alize as his consort, Talius felt proud, and solidified in influence. These things raced through his mind as Alize wayed him as he led the remnants of the northern tuluki army home, after the battle of Tyn Dashra. She was right in that she had indeed played the greatest prank of all time. She was apparently an Allanaki sergeant now, trading her luxurious northern life to return to her home. Whispers abounded that Rider had died attempting to kill the exalted lord when the battle commenced. The following weeks dragged on in a continuous nightmare as reports came in and the picture was clear. Even after the damage was fully fathomed, it could not be considered as the Lirathan order asserted its power now. The Jihaen Order broke, still reeling, and Ardith stepped down from High Precentor.

A dying philosophy

Talius had a chance to truly devote his efforts to preserving Jiyan-Sel, and fully intended to do so. He wrote a manifesto under the alias 'Brother Justice', condemning the Lirathan Order. In it he condemned their order for destroying the traditions of the people, by murdering the entire Hlum sect by engulfing their holdings in a fiery inferno. The common man could no longer strive for perfection, emulating the examples of the highborn, and their society had taken a step backwards. The Grey Hunt was no more. He went so far as to question how much the Lirathan Order knew about Tyn Dashra, and it appealed to the deepest tenants of Jiyan-Sel to guide the Jihaen order to salvation. Lost, his only grounding hopes placed in the decisions of his Elder Brother and leader Ardith, Talius included a contingency for resistance, should the Lirathans try to escalate a conflict and push their advantage. He proposed taking the legions and order, on a campaign to crush the gith within the Yen-El-Tun chasm, and move to Elenthal keep to mount a campaign to overthrow the Lirathans.

With a heavy heart and anxious apprehension of word from Ardith Lyksae, Talius helped host a competition in the Partisan's Arena. Soon, the High Precentor herself, and a series of templars, Ardith among them, took the stage with Talius, before the entire city watching. As the High Precentor gloated and goaded Ardith with sly words and subtle dominance, Ardith made a decision, and took the stage, his weapon in hand. Talius had been poised, reaching for his Lirapet, understanding his Precentor's intent. Muk-Utep, in all his glory, came to us in the form of a guard, to the High Precentor. He dissolved the ancient Orders, merging us into one hierarchy, allowing the Lirathan to maintain her place. Ardith accepted. The way of Jiyan-Sel might perish from life entirely after all.

By far one of my favourite templars ever. I thought the player did a fantastic job of being an approachable PC (both approachable to other PCs and also approachable on an OOC level, if that makes sense) while still maintaining the whole "I'm a templar, of course I'm better than all of you, that's just how it is."

I enjoyed Talius as well. I played the only half-giant I have ever played under him during the time of Tyn Dashra. I kept expecting him to tell me to cut the shit, but he just smiled and kept forcing people to feed me sweets and be my friends. Many a laugh was had. Thank you Talius.